Out With The Old
by gammaraygus
Summary: Takes place in the past of the Unequally Yoked Universe. Story chronicles the rekindling of John and Katma's relationship. See Partners drabble for intro.
1. Beginnings

The two hug one another, but it is an awkward embrace. It is the embrace of former lovers now resigned to being just friends.

"So how are you, John?" she asked.

"I'm good Kat. I'm good" he answered, exhaling a little.

She laughed aloud.

"What's so funny?"

"Liar!" she exclaimed smiling. "John, you have always been an open-faced book".

"That's sandwich – an open-faced sandwich" he corrected.

"Whatever. It's no wonder you were so bad at espionage training. Your emotions are and have always been front and center".

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about" he stated with some annoyance as his eyes looked toward the ground.

"Please!" she began, but then stopped herself.

His body language told her he was troubled. She exhaled before continuing.

"John, I'm…I'm sorry about Shayera…and Vixen".

He looked up in mild shock, but slowly lowered his gaze and exhaled.

"Is it that obvious?"

She placed her hand on his left shoulder and softly answered.

"Yes…it is".

"How did you…" he began.

"C'mon John. You know how the grapevine is with the Corp" she interrupted. "Nothing goes unnoticed".

He looked up and began to survey the landscape.

"Can we get out of here? I mean, can we go somewhere?"

"Sure…sure John. Where to?"

"Anywhere".

"Okay. Climb aboard".

At the speed of thought her ring manifested an emerald green bubble that encapsulated the two of them. They slowly floated away from the planet's surface and into space. They traveled for several minutes in silence. John stared straight ahead, but his thoughts were in every direction. No longer able to bear the quietness of space and John's silence, she spoke.

"Penny for your thoughts or did you start playing the quiet game without me?" she asked playfully.

A few seconds passed before he responded.

"Huh? What? Oh, I'm sorry Kat. Just lost in my thoughts is all".

He briefly smiled at her, but slowly his expression turned emotionless again. Katma Tui is a strong woman. She is a fighter. She does not suffer fools nor those wrapped in self pity. She brought their transport to an abrupt halt, which caused John to fall forward and his momentum pressed his face against the inside wall of the bubble.

"Hey! What gives?!" he asked.

"I was going to ask you the same question!" she answered with annoyance in her voice. "Why are you here John? And don't give me that backup crap again. You know I could have handled those petty crooks myself".

He sighed deeply before speaking.

"Honestly Kat. I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't know a lot of things anymore. My life these past few years have been nothing but one high drama rollercoaster event after another" he stated, clearly angry with himself. "I lose Vixen and…and I lost Shayera. I'm tired of losing the people I care about" he said, softly.

She could feel his angst and it both alarmed and annoyed her. She knew John Stewart to be a man of tremendous strength. Not just mental and physical strength, but emotional as well. She wanted to see that man again.

"Well I hope you haven't come here thinking I'm going to play the role of the rebound chick" she said placing her hands on her hips.

Her accusation angered him, which was exactly her intent.

"What?! I came to Oa to see the Guardians. I just happened to catch your battle on Oa's monitors. I came here to help!" he stated, angrily. "You think I came all this way for some…some type of intergalactic booty call?!" he exclaimed, glaring at her.

They stood in silence frowning at one another until she slowly broke into a wide smile.

"Gotcha" she said playfully.

"What? Oh Jeez…why do I always fall for that?! You were baiting me!" he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Booty call?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh. Yeah. Lemme see, how do I explain…" he started.

"I know what a booty call is John Stewart!" she interrupted, laughing. "I may not know all of Earth's colloquialism's, but there are some things that don't need explaining. Besides, training Raynor all that time…well one picks up on things. So don't hate the playa, hate the game" she remarked.

He put his right hand on his forehead.

"Please! Stop. Just stop now" he said, shaking his head and laughing.

"What? What? That's hip right?" she asked.

"Yeah, that was hip about six years ago! And if I don't stop you now, you'll be saying things like 'foshizzle' pretty soon!" he stated.

"Hmmm. Foshizzle huh? I'll have to write that one down" she said playfully, while manifesting an emerald green pad and pencil.

"Oh God! Can we please just go now?!"

She laughed and once again their emerald green bubble chariot was on its way. They traveled in silence for a moment until he spoke.

"Hey Kat".

"Yeah?"

"Thanks".

"For what?"

"Thanks for making me laugh. I haven't had a good laugh in awhile. Frankly, I haven't had that much to laugh about lately. So thanks for the mood lift" he said, facing her.

"You're welcome John" she said, nodding.

They smiled at each other and then turned forward.

"So where are we going?" he asked, exhaling a little.

"My place. I wanna know more about this booty call thing" she said, matter of factly.

"Uhm…" he began.

"Gotcha…again" she said with a smile and wink.

"Just drive" he motioned with his hand.


	2. Memorial

They had been travelling for nearly an hour when he spotted the planet. Something about it was oddly familiar, but he was one who had ventured among the stars for so many years that many of the planets had begun to look similar. Once they entered the atmosphere, the lushness of the planet's typography was revealed. As they continued their descent, he was struck by the sheer beauty of the trees, rolling plains, and clear oceans. In many ways it reminded him of Shayera's place in the mountains, but this was on a much grander scale.

Shayera and Carter had moved in together when they became engaged. His memory of their engagement caused him to frown. Knots stilled formed in his stomach when he allowed himself to think about Carter holding her, touching her, kissing her. He quickly forced his mind to think about something else. The painful images caused him to sigh aloud, but he tried to cover it up by speaking.

"It's beautiful Kat" he stated matter-of-factly.

"It is isn't it" she said with a slight smile. "Much different than the last time you were here John Stewart".

"What? I don't think I've ever been here before" he said with a degree of puzzlement.

"You've been here before John. It's just that…things were different then and…I was different then" she said hauntingly and casting her eyes downward.

He frowned because he couldn't remember being on the planet before and he frowned because her body language and tone was of someone struggling emotionally. He hadn't seen her this way before and it bothered him.

"I'm sorry, but I honestly don't remember being here" he stated apologetically, but not really understanding why he suddenly felt the need to apologize.

Just as he was about to speak again she halted their transport. They hovered above a large alabaster colored stone which was surrounded by meticulously manicured grounds. The stone itself was shaded by a large oak looking tree and at the base of the stone was a flame. It was then that he remembered.

"We're on Kalanor?!" he stated in bewilderment.

She pointed toward the stone, but remained silent.

He frowned and then read the stone's inscription softly and slowly. "In memory of those known and unknown who made the ultimate sacrifice to liberate Kalanor from the evil reign of Despero". He then closed his eyes and lowered his head in reverence for the memorial he had just uttered.

"The tree represents truth, the stone represents courage, and the eternal flame a reminder that wherever there is darkness, there is light within all of us to conquer it" she explained.

"I can't help but notice some similarities to our own oath in the flame explanation" he stated.

"That's not by accident. It was the Kalanorians way to honor the Corps' efforts and…sacrifice during the liberation. They did it for Gallius and Arkkus" she said solemnly.

"I'm so sorry Kat".

"I failed them John. I failed them both".

"Kat…stop. You can't blame yourself for their deaths".

"Can't I?! I was in charge John! I was the squad leader! The responsibility of their deaths lies with me!" she shouted angrily.

"But you didn't cause their deaths Kat! Despero did! If anyone's responsible it's him!"

"That's little comfort John Stewart! You weren't here for the aftermath! You weren't here to write the reports! You weren't here to face their families!" she said pointing her right index finger at him.

"Gallius and Arkkus knew what they were getting into! They died doing what they believed in! No one is forced to join the Corps Kat! They knew the risks, they knew the danger, but they also knew the honor…to fight and stand up for those who can't! Surely you of all people know this!" he yelled back, but more angrily than he meant.

"Always the soldier, huh John Stewart?! Always the cold, hard, unemotional facts?! Don't preach to me like you know! Don't preach to me like you have experience in this! You've never had anyone close to you get killed!" she screamed.

"And I pray I never do Kat" he said softly while placing his right hand on her left shoulder. "But you beating yourself up…isn't going to bring them back" he stated, gazing into her eyes. She met his gaze and her facial muscles relaxed.

She sighed deeply. "I know it won't, but the pain hasn't gone away John. I keep playing over and over in my mind their last moments. I keep wondering if things would have been different if only I'd ordered a retreat sooner".

"From what I understand, it was an ambush Kat. It's called an ambush for a reason…it was unexpected".

"How did you…?" she started to ask.

"Kilowog told Flash and Flash told me".

"We should have immediately retreated, but…my pride got in the way" she explained.

"You sure about that? Sounds like you're blaming yourself again. There is no way you or anyone else on that mission could've known the true power source you were up against. They were harvesting the power of an entire planet!" he countered. "You did it by the book Kat. You all did…Gallius and Arkkus included".

"I know…I know. Everything you're saying is true John Stewart, but that doesn't make it hurt any less". She sighed deeply before continuing. "I just don't understand why I'm still struggling with this" she said as she looked at the ground. "When I was just another nameless resistance fighter trying to overthrow Sinestro, I saw friends, good friends, killed almost daily".

"And that's why it hurts so much now Kat. It hurts because part of you accepted the offer to join the Corps to make sure no one else close to you would ever have to die again at the hands and whim of some despot".

She slowly nodded in agreement as tears began to form in her hazel-grey eyes.

He embraced her and she held him tight. She held him as if he were the embodiment of her next breath. It took him by surprise, but it did not stop him from mentally acknowledging how good her body felt next to his. He closed his eyes, but Shayera's face appeared and his eyes quickly reopened. He and Katma stayed silently embraced for several moments before he broke the silence.

"I wish there was something I could say to make the pain go away Kat, but I can't. There are some things you are just going to have to work through. I promise though, you won't have to work through them alone".

She gave him one more tight squeeze and then stepped away. She wiped the tears from her eyes with both hands and then laughed a little.

"What?" he asked.

"I know what you're thinking John Stewart. You're thinking the almighty Katma Tui is human after all…well maybe not quite human, but you know what I mean".

"You're wrong Kat. Someone once told me that we tend to cling to the images of people for when we knew them best…forgetting that they do change. I've always known you were more than the fighter persona you projected".

"Thank you" she said, allowing a small smile to form.

Again there was a silence between them. John stared at the stone and Katma focused her eyes on the eternal flame. It was now her turn to break the awkward silence.

"You do know that Shayera thinks I'm the one that ended our relationship don't you?" she asked.

He let out a small sigh. "Yeah. So why didn't you tell her the truth?" he asked.

"She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "A woman knows when another woman is marking her territory. Besides, it was a good quip she leveled at me and I didn't want to spoil her moment so I stayed quiet".

He laughed a little, but she could tell it was forced.

"She's a good woman John. I'm sorry that things didn't work out".

"Yeah" he stated somberly. "Kat…" he pursed his lips to say more, but paused, thought better of it, and then continued. "I know it's a cliché, but time does heal all wounds".

"Do you really believe that?" she said, slowly forming an emerald green bubble and floating them upward.

"I do…I have to" he answered softly.

She stared at him for a few seconds.

"You know John, there are some wounds that time won't ever heal".


End file.
